KELLY PURKEY AUGUST REVEAL

Another month and another release by Kelly Purkey! Here's a look and reveal of all the stamp sets included in this month's KP shop release!

And of course, you can get all these stamps (and more!) in Kelly Purkey's shop here. Happy shopping!

MTN DIARY #3

I'm starting to develop that itch again where I lose interest in one project and feel the need to start another. I'm still up to date with my MTN diary, however, my style has changed a little since I started it and I'm hoping this will allow me to create more freely and keep at it. Either way, here's a look at the past two weeks' MTN layouts:

I didn't in fact finish the first MTN layout above (because I ran out of time / couldn't be bothered etc), so I made up for it on the next week when I included my first picture in the MTN diary. I'm liking how it turned out though, and I'll possibly aim for more pictures in the coming week to scrap the monotony of my layouts.

TUTORIAL: VINTAGE PASSPORT MTN FOLDER

Recently, I decided to spruce up my Passport MTN kraft folder, and because I'm into all things vintage, I decided to pull out my ephemera to put together a simple antique-feel folder. Here's how it turned out:

I've been asked how I put this folder together on Instagram, so I thought I might write up a little post on it. It really is simple, and all you need are the right tools to create one of your own:

Supplies:
- Wax seal + wax
- Classiky Wax Paper
- Kaisercraft Script stamp
- Brown stamp pad
- Pressed leaf
- Green thread + needle
- Old stamp

Method:
1- The first thing to do is stamp out the vintage script directly onto the kraft folder. Do it on just one side or cover the entire folder - it is entirely up to you
2- Get the Classiky wax paper, and scrunch it up. You'll be able to create the imperfect lines across the entire wax paper as seen in the picture. Stick it on the bottom half of the kraft folder
3- Stick a vintage stamp on the top left
4- Grab your needle and thread and poke a hole on the bottom of the kraft folder. Tie a knot at the end so the thread doesnt slip through the hole and go round the kraft folder
5- Choose your pressed leaf and arrange it onto your kraft folder as desired
6- Heat some wax up and drip it onto the stem of the leaf and the wax paper
7- Stamp the wax with a wax seal stamp and you're done!

It's super simple and doesn't take too long to do either! Try one out for yourself!

KELLY PURKEY AUGUST SNEAKS

Another month has gone by, which means there's another update in the Kelly Purkey Shop! This month is all about girl power, sunny beach days, and tough lives. I've created some layouts with these new stamps and here's a little sneak peak before the full reveal on the 28th of August!

Don't forget tot mark your calendars for this store update! Stay tuned for the full reveal!

PASSPORT VS REGULAR MTN

Oh, we've had this debate before, but admittedly, I have always been a little biased towards the regular MTN in the past. However, now that I've broken out the Passport, gave it a chance with some customisation and started writing in it, I'm starting to wonder why it took me so long to get into it. This weekend saw me creating two spreads, both with the same picture, in the two different sized MTNs to test how each went. Here's how it turned out:

As you can see, both spreads have their own little unique edge to them. On the one hand, the Passport size is able to focus on an event in a two-page facing spread, encompassing both writing and photo in one, while on the other, the regular size is able to encompass all of the previous with white space to spare! I guess it really depends what 'look' you're going for too.

In a way, I love the compact size of the Passport MTN; I can slip it into my back pocket at work no problem, and rather than writing notes on pieces of paper, I can now pull out my MTN and write straight into it. So the passport really is great for random notes / lists. On the other hand, I love how much the regular MTN can fit. I love its size and just the general feel of holding one. Without a doubt, the regular size is the best fit for travels and documentation. So it all depends on the final aim of your 'project'. Is it meant to be portable? Is it meant to fit lots of ephemera? Is it to document, or is it for scribbles? It all depends on you. So although I can debate to lengths of which MTN is the best, it all comes down to what you need!

MTN DIARY #2

I've been experimenting with my Passport MTN (and having so much fun with it) lately that I'm fearing that my regular sized MTN will slowly fade away (and so will my diary projects). I can't seem to stick with one thing this year, always wanting to try out different things but never really completing it wholly. I'm going to try to stick with my diary projects, so here's what's been happening in the past two weeks:

It seems like my spreads are taking a repetitive turn, don't you think? I need to embrace different styles in my diary documenting, and this week was probably one of my 'trial' runs where I embrace the space and pull an 'incomplete but complete' look. I'm aiming to have bigger diagrams in my spreads (such as the pie chart) so the eyes will have something to focus on, and hopefully that will bring some variety over to my pages.

CURRENTLY #19

TIME: 8:03PM

LOCATION: Bedroom / studio / office

FEELING: A little tired

LOVING: My new Camel Passport MTN

READING: Liane Moriarty - What Alice Forgot

DRINKING: Water

ANTICIPATING: The arrival of my Kelly Purkey stamps!

LISTENING: To the clock tick

WATCHING: Batman vs Superman

PLANNING TO: Create more blog posts in the next few days

LOOKING FORWARD TO: My first 6 - 2 shift this Thursday! (Yes, I'm weird)

CREATING: MTN spreads

NEED TO FINISH: Project Life 2016 spreads!

AUGUST GOALS

It's crazy to think that it's already August. So much has happened this year, and yet there's still much more to look forward to and accomplish as I transition into full time work and adult life (eep). Life is hard, but the best thing is: you will always have the power to shape your life the way you want it. It just depends on whether or not you're brave enough to do so. But anyway, here's a look at how July went for me in terms of goal setting and achievement:

• x     Read two books
• x     Spend less
• x     Catch up with Project Life 2016
• ü Keep up with Weekly MTN

Now that I'm working in a different place (with highly limited shopping options), I can say that the first goal I set for the month might actually finally be achievable:

Let's see how this month goes:

• Spend less than $400
• Read a book (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!)
• Draw, draw, draw!

Been having a bumpy end to the month of July and I'm hoping things will start looking up when August comes around..

KELLY PURKEY JULY REVEAL

I'm still patiently awaiting the arrival of the new Kelly Purkey July stamps, but I can tell you, the release is something you don't want to miss. If you thought last month was great, this month will blow your mind out of the water! Here's a look at some of the new stamps and kits that are available at the Kelly Purkey shop now!

(All pictures taken from Kelly Purkey Shop)

You can click here to head straight to her shop. And remember, be quick because once they're gone, it most likely won't be coming back (and you'll have to live with buyer's regret!)

BPC: TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK | DOCUMENTING EVERYDAY

Guess what guys? I'm teaching a class over at Big Picture Classes on Monday and it's going to be filled with all things Traveler's Notebook! It's going to be super exciting, and you'll finally be able to access full length tutorials on how I create all my spreads! Here are a few sneak photos that will be in the class:

Make sure you sign up for a two week trials so you can check my class (and all the others) out! Looking forward to seeing you there!

PIPSTICKS

The lovely Carissa from Pipsticks contacted me recently asking whether I wanted to try out their ah-maazing sticker pack a few weeks back, and being a lover of stickers, of course I said yes! I had to wait patiently for my pack though as it was flying all the way from the great USA, but when it arrived, it was well worth it.

A little background on Pipsticks: Pipsticks is a subscription sticker club. They design and source stickers from the best supplies all over the world in order to give members a gorgeously packaged (just look at the picture below to understand that this is not an over statement!), affordable, unique stash of special stickers when they need them (because who doesn't need stickers in their life?!). The sticker club was started by Maureen, and have subscribers from over 50 countries!

Here's a look at the pack when it arrived:

The sticker pack attracts you from the get go, because of the unique little packaging it comes in, and I'm actually amazed no one in the post office has taken it for themselves (hah!). But now to the insides:

As you can see, their pack is FULL of super cute stickers. I've already started using them in my MTN weekly diary posts, as they're just so versatile. And the best part is: they're coming up on their second birthday this September, and they'll be celebrating it with a MEGA pack of stickers, stuffed even more than usual. If you don't want to miss out on this mega pack coming in a few months, Pipsticks and I have teamed up to give you 15% off the first month of any subscription using the code: NOV15. Yay! You don't want to miss out!

(You can check out their website for more information by clicking here)

MTN DIARY #1

I'm thoroughly enjoying documenting in a vertical format in my Midori diary, and if you follow me on my Instagram (@lettersinnovember), you'll probably know that's old news. I've included the last three spreads I've done for the month of July and can't wait to document more in the next following weeks!

I love that each week holds its own story through the decorations I put in and ephemera I document. It's also quite amazing how much you can fit in each of the columns there despite it looking so small! I'm definitely looking forward to completing a notebook to see the uniqueness of each spread

PROJECT LIFE 2016: WEEK 27

Because I'm running out of my favourite Project Life page protectors and I had pictures I wanted to print, I decided to go full scale with a 6x12":

I've yet to put the journaling in, but I'm focussing on putting labels and stickers into this one, with journaling kept to a minimum. You can get the stamps pictured from Kelly Purkey's shop here. The great thing about 6x12" photos like these are the colours. I admit, it would've been better if taken from an actual camera, rather than my iPhone, but it does the trick. Pick a picture you like for the week, blow it up and you've got all you need. Experiment with different photo sizes in your Project Life and it will give some variety to your spreads.

CURRENTLY #18

TIME: 7:45PM

LOCATION: Bedroom / studio / office

FEELING: Cold. So so cold.

LOVING: My new Silhoutte Cameo!

READING: Donna Tart - The Goldfinch (yep, I'm trying to finish it again a year later)

DRINKING:  Honey & lemon to fight off the last of my cold

ANTICIPATING: The end of my work contract with one of the best RAD team I've been with :(

LISTENING:Charlie Puth - Superman (new fav!)

WATCHING: Pretty Little Liars

PLANNING: To catch them all (anyone else hooked with Pokemon Go?)

LOOKING FORWARD TO: Weekend outing with friends

CREATING: MTN spreads for the week

NEED TO FINISH: 2016 Project Life spreads!

WISHING: I had more time

PROJECT LIFE 2016: WEEK 26

So I might have skipped a quarter of the year and went straight to the halfway mark... To be fair, I just haven't been blogging about them. The photos are well documented and in their rightful place, I just haven't spruced them up with journaling and embellishments. I made a note to actually do them last weekend after printing out some new pictures though, so here are the results:

The layouts are made purely from Kelly Purkey shop items found here. They're absolutely versatile and if you check out her instagram page, you'll see an abundance of ideas for her kits. There isn't much to Project Life-ing but it's always the little things that makes your layout complete. Don't be afraid to add staples, washi tape and stamps to your photos. It will give your pages some life you never thought possible!

MTN WEEKLY 2.0

I've been experimenting a little with my newest project for the second half of the year (!!) since the start of July, and I think it's coming up great (for now). I'm on track for it, and although there is still that pressure to get it perfect like all the other posts I see out there, I think I'll loosen up once I get into the groove of things. But what is this project, I'm mentioning? Well, this:

I managed to get my hands on the undated MTN weekly diary spread onto two pages from Bookbinders Online on the first day of July and got straight into it. I never seemed to like this format until I saw their use on some of my fav Instagram accounts. Now I see why it's another great way of documentation.

This may very well be the next 'MTN Weekly' post that will be featured on my blog, so there are definitely exciting times ahead! Stay tuned!

NOTEMAKER WAREHOUSE SALE

Notemaker is having a Warehouse Sale in the great city of Melbourne, and it is ah-mazing! I was able to drop by before I started work at 12 on the day of their opening and grabbed as much as I could (though I wish I had grabbed more!) as everything were at absolute bargain prices. I got everything above for $52. I mean, the diary alone from Rifle Paper Co would have cost that much! The Warehouse Sale is happening at 361 Little Lonsdale St and is open till Saturday. I highly recommend dropping by if you're in town as you definitely won't regret it! Here's a look at some of the pictures I snapped while there:

Happy shopping!

KELLY PURKEY JUNE REVEAL

Kelly Purkey seems to be releasing better and better stamp sets as the months go by. I love every single one that comes out, and this month is no exception. The June release saw two new kits (one by Kelly Purkey called 'My Day' and another called 'Get It' by Jamaica Edgell), and three new stamp sets (alpha, 'Great Outdoors' and 'Best Friends'). They're all aimed for different events, but intermixable if you tried.

Here's a look at a project I created using the 'Great Outdoors' stamp and Journaling Card from the 'My Day' kit:

I'll be creating a whole lot more from these stamps because I'm just bursting with ideas for them. Make sure you get yours from the Kelly Purkey shop before they all sell out!

JULY GOALS

Another month has zoomed by and I'm left looking at my goals and wondering what exactly I've been doing in the past 30 days. Here's a look at how I went with my June Goals:

• x    Read two books
• ü Keep a habits tracking list
• x     Exercise!
• ü Donate, donate, donate!
• x    Keep up with the blogging
• ü No Less spending

So what's in store for July? The usual, I guess:

• Read two books
• Spend less
• Catch up with Project Life 2016
• Keep up with Weekly MTN

It's crazy to think that it's already July, and how much has happened collectively, changing in its own little subtle way to bring us to this very moment. Sigh.

LITTLE SUMMER JOY 2016

Even though it's rainy and freezing cold here in Australia currently, I'm happy to announce that I'm contributing to Little Paper Projects' 2016 #LittleSummerJoy class! And the best part is: if you sign up before June 30 using this link using the promo code of 'SAVE5', you'll get $5 off the cost of the class!

This class will be jam packed with ideas from a bunch of talented ladies who will be teaching you ways to document your summer life by celebrating the little things in your daily life. Friends, it is not something you want to miss! Make sure you sign up now before you miss the opportunity to have some great fun this summer!